The GReat RESignation and what to do about it

Everyone is talking about “the Great Resignation”. It’s in the media, there are blog posts aplenty (including this one), but what is it?

In the USA, following the lifting of pandemic restraints, there has been a huge upsurge in employees resigning from their roles. What’s driving it?

• Employees have spent significant time working from home and have had the time to re-evaluate what is important in their lives – they are prioritising family and themselves over their careers;
  
  
• Many employees have found that they prefer working from home – there is no commute, no dress code, less direct micromanagement by their superiors. Many will baulk at returning to the office;
  
  
• Many companies struggled during lockdown and as a result they put undue pressure on already pressured employees. In many cases organisational culture became quite toxic. Now they want out;
  
  
• More career driven employees have often had to put their next job search on hold for 12-18 months, now the market is opening up and those roles are available;
  
  

Australian employment trends generally follow America’s and as we open up again, the same Great Resignation will happen here too. In many reports it’s already started, but most pundits believe it will be at its peak post-Christmas and New Year, when Australian returns from its summer holidays. February and March 2022 are expected to be the peak.

So, what can employers do about it?

• Critically evaluate every employee on how likely they are to leave, and the impacts their departure could have, so you can either plan for it, or try to head it off. If you need external resources to do this, contact Locum People. In many cases employees will be more open with external consultants than they will with their managers.
  
  
• Evaluate your culture, and if cultural change is needed implement it as quickly as you can. Employees will no longer tolerate working in a culture that does not support their personal goals. But beware, organisational culture is almost impossible to evaluate accurately from within. Employers should seek external objective help. Locum People can assist if required.
  
  
• Evaluate your salaries and wages against market norms. Australia and NZ are suffering from very talent short employment markets, especially in technical and engineering type roles, including technical solution salespeople. Supply and demand means market salaries have increased. If your employees are not being paid market rates, they will be ripe for headhunters to recruit them. Locum People can assist with this bench-marking as well.